With lot of talk in the industry about “New MR,” I thought I would share my opinion about what it means to me. Many people focus on the latest innovative methodologies exclusively, but the concept of “New MR” is more than methods. It includes three key elements:

1. Tools: This is the most obvious element of New MR. We now have a variety of different tools and methodologies to collect insights (e.g., MROCs, neuroscience/modeling, social media analytics, prediction markets, game-based research). Methodologies are now longitudinal, collaborative, and interactive – incorporating a lot of different types of feedback content like text, video, and multimedia etc. Additionally, there are significantly improved tools for analyzing information regardless of the methodology.
2. Context: There is now a greater opportunity to understand the broader context of consumers. Collaboration tools give consumers the ability to share so as researchers we can now listen for insights. Additionally, the rise of the sheer volume of information on social media sites and the tools to analyze and make sense of this data means that we now have the ability to see who people are and what they are saying about brands outside of our research environments.
3. Accountability: The last and potentially most important element of New MR is the idea that our role as researchers is changing. The bar is getting higher. There is added emphasis on us to new deliver more relevant insights and to change perceptions of market research – making it more strategically relevant, more easily understood, faster/more efficient, more usable, ultimately having a greater impact on the decisions clients make on a daily basis.

- Ben